Micellar Enhanced Ultrafiltration Using PEO-PPO-PEO Block Copolymer

PEO-PPO-PEO 블록공중합체를 사용한 마이셀 증진 한외여과법 (유해유기물의 가용화 및 분리특성)

1. Introduction : Low molecular harmful organics such as 1-naphthol and phenol are widely used in industries, and pose serious environmental problems. Wastewater containing low molecular harmful organics may be ejected from various sources including metal-plating industries, circuit-board manufacturing process, photographic and photo-processing industries, refineries and metal-tailing leachate. The pollution of nation harbors, waterways and ground water resources with these organics has reached critical portions, and might also give hazardous influence on human health. Micellar enhanced ultrafiltration(MEUF) is a recently developed process to remove dissolved organics and/or heavy metals present in small or trace quantities from aqueous solution. In this system, the fatal defect is leakage of surfactants especially at low concentration below CMC(critical micelle concentration), which becomes a secondary pollution. Our group proposed to use biosurfactant and polymeric micelle to solve problems mentioned above. In this study we investigated a modified MEUF using PEO-PPO-PEO (polyethyleneoxide-polypropyleneoxide-polyethyleneoxide) block copolymers for the removal of organic solutes such as 1-naphthol and phenol from aqueous wastewater. We proposed PEO-PPO-PEO block copolymers as new surfactants for forming micelles in MEUF, and investigated the solubilization characteristics and efficiency for the removal of 1-naphthol and phenol. PEO-PPO-PEO block copolymers are, environmentally mild and safe as biosurfactants.